Where did the toad cross the road?
Where did the toad cross the road?
Cane toad control at the containment line of the Summerland Way - assessing the march of the toad and building community response
Taking Action -
LLCI033-035
The issue
Cane toads are poisonous at all stages of their life cycle. Their progressive invasion has contributed to the decline of numerous different native species while also posing a threat to domestic animals. In northern NSW the Summerland Way was considered the western edge of the cane toad’s distribution. In 2018-19 the Border Ranges Richmond Valley Landcare Network obtained a project contract from Office of Environment and Heritage to assess the extent of their westward invasion, support communities to control these pests and slow the spread into unaffected areas.
The solution
To determine the spread of cane toads field officers, armed with torches, buckets and good ears to tap into calling toads, undertook night-time cane toad surveys across multiple private properties. Surveys occurred in areas west of the Summerland Way, south from Leeville in the Richmond Valley shire and north to Woodenbong in the Kyogle shire.
BRRVLN also organised community events and workshops to increase local knowledge on cane toad biology, impact and control methods. Tools for identifying, detecting, reporting and controlling cane toads were trialled and launched. A range of resources such as cane toad tadpole traps, Toadinator traps for adult toads and wet and dry vacuums for targeting tadpoles and metamorphs on dam edges are now available from the BRRVLN Landcare office in Kyogle for landholders to loan.
The impact
The survey task has extended the known range of the cane toad invasion with toads now being detected as far west as Sextonville, Theresa Creek and Babyl Creek at the foothills of the Richmond Range. This knowledge is now informing priorities and control efforts for the coming years. Where toads are new to the landscape assisting landholders with identification and control methods is helping the fight at the front line. Helping landholders confidently distinguish cane toads from native species is important to ensure native frogs are not killed by mistake. The innovations of cane toad tadpole traps wet and dry vacuums have been received well by the community in tackling the toads.
Key facts
- 30 sites across the project area surveyed for cane toads
- 8 community information events
- Trials with new toad trap technologies